Guest Info Plot & Events

Current Month 3.2591 A.R. 9th Interval

Southern Winds has plotted events roughly every OOC week. This means our story is ever evolving and Southern Winds is changing. Events for the current month are listed here, once you've registered for an account.

Our roleplay time is pretty fluid. We allow you to play anything that may have happened in the past, but not in the future, as events that may affect the entire weyr may ruin futuristic plots.

We list Flights, Clutches, and Hatchings for both Dragons and Flits here, as well as whers. There are Candidate events and classes and Crafter plots. A little bit of something for everyone.

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We are a mature, 9th Interval AU Pern. We've destroyed almost the entire planet in a catastrophic event. While we feature 2 new mutations, we stick pretty close to canon. We've Ranks, roles, and positions for just about anyone who wants to get involved, with a relaxed community. Play and post at your own pace. Swing by and say hello!

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Southern
Winds is a Mature Roleplay. This means we allow for sexual, violent
content that would be found in a struggling, 9th Interval Pern. Sex is
common place in the Weyr and terrible deaths are no stranger here. As
such, our players should be 18+. These themes are to be handled maturely
at all times.

R’ael had spent, what, some 30 turns now bonded with Uramaeth? They had fought and survived thread together, both of them coming out of the pass unscathed physically. R’ael knew sore muscles and fatigue, how her shoulders ached when Uramaeth’s wings could no longer withstand flight. She knew the thrill of adrenaline, how flaming thread felt because even as her Brown breathed fire, the sensation ebbed in her own gut and throat. She knew flight lust and the freedom of just being that came with a successful flight. All of these things she had felt alongside her Brown, but together they had never truly known pain.

Initially, when the hunter bit into his shoulder it felt like a flash of flame and then numbness. Perhaps, had the contact remained, the pain would have remained minimal. R’ael saw stars when the hunter recoiled, taking a bit of Uramaeth with it. The ichor poured hot down his hide, gravity bringing it to the rider and she shut her eyes to block the sight. The Brown persevered even as R’ael faltered. He knew the quicker this was done the quicker she could recover. Even injured, her safety and wellness were his priority.

Uramaeth did not have size advantage here. He felt clumsy on the ground but knew there was no way to safely disengage into the air. His wings weren’t entirely useless, though. They were something he could use that the hunter did not have an answer for, beyond tooth and claw. With the beast still before him and R’ael still safely tucked on his back, the Brown unfurled his great wings with the intention of swatting or otherwise distracting the hunter, maybe even sacrificing them so that he could land a more vital bite. In the same motion, he bridged the gap that had opened with the hunter’s initial recoil and swung one foreleg out, aiming to knock into and rip at the hunter’s already injured shoulder. His jaws opened and then fastened onto the hunter’s opposite side, though this time he hoped his aim was a little more true and his bite a little more lethal.

There was something wonderful about the situation, the further down the tunnels Penderton trekked. Citizens of the hold were coming to defend it from all walks of life. The rugged miners with their seasoned wher were eager and ready, but so were the newer folk, the hold folk that had fled the weyr following the riots. They certainly couldn’t be called soft, but he had always discounted their reliability until today. He heard orders being barked over the din, their echoes steadying his fears and cementing his decision.

The children he still carried hadn’t felt so heavy at first, but now the adrenaline was fading the further from the entrance he got. He paused for a moment and shifted first one child, and then the other, onto his wher. Half grown, they could easily support the kids and continue their trek. With his arms free their pace was renewed. He wanted to get as far from the entrance as possible, which meant the bathing springs, but he felt that maybe the wher caves were a better choice. He’d rather deal with a moody Queen than have people slipping into the water because it was crowded.

His wher cleared a path for him and he realized he had something of a following of other people behind, taking advantage of the space they made. “We’re headed to the back caves,” he yelled back. Some would follow him at least.

Spoiler for Hidden:

a short post for Pen, feel free to use him as a means to get characters into the fray if anyone is still inclined. Number 1 if that matters :D

K'rez's fingers scrabbled at the hide on Denoth's back when he felt the snap of half of his riding straps and the sliding of his legs. He tried to clamp down, but Denoth's movement to keep attacking the Hunter was too much for his thighs, and he and the straps slid, until some piece of leather got caught on Denoth's other side.

Now the question was, did he stay attached? Ready for the potential moment Denoth had to fly upwards away from the claws of the Hunter. Or did he completely detach? Allowing Denoth to not have to worry about him bouncing around on a half attached harness.

A lurching of Denoth, which tightened a broken piece tight to choking around his thigh, made up his mind. With the Hunter's attention now turned to Denoth, and K'rez mostly safe for now, the brown was doing all he could to fend off the attacks, but still keeping the side with K'rez attached turned away from the beast, and inevitably exposing his opposing side to the Hunter.

Bringing his knife up towards to straps, he started to cut, clenching his teeth over the pain where he accidentally cut into flesh. Denoth lunged forward, trying to take a bite out of the Hunter's muscled neck, and the final of the straps trapping K'rez loosened, dropping him heavily to the ground. Denoth's shoulder had been high off the ground, and the connection with the ground painful, but K'rez couldn't afford to languish in the pain. Spinning quickly, he raised himself up on the ground, keeping low to the ground in a part crouch, knife drawn.

It would do nothing much to actually cause any real injury to a Hunter, but perhaps with a well-timed enough strike, it could deter one longer enough for Denoth to come to his aid.

For now, he had to stay out of Denoth's way, but safely hidden in the brown's shadow. Hopefully these Hunters were getting tired of the defence they had mounted.

Tiy was mostly impressed that the girl went from limp to fighting pretty damn hard. It became apparent pretty quickly that she wasn’t as little as Tiy had initially thought. Thankfully they’d made it to the back of the Hall before Kenna shoved herself out of Tiy’s grip. At least she wasn’t panicking, actually, the younger Miner was pretty intent on being sensible, and Tiy tried not to be offended.

Remain calm, take a breath. “We aren’t going to leave them, but we aren’t going to play chicken with a Hunter.” Taking a look around the Hall, Tiy took stock of what the miner could do. Obviously, the girl wasn’t just going to hang back, she cared too much… it was admirable. With one more look about the room, Tiy elected to start with honesty. There wasn’t a lot of time, and she didn’t think the woman would appreciate it later if she didn’t.

“You’re right, we will do something. Grab one of these tables and turn it over, then grab something sharp. It won’t do a hell of a lot against that hide, until after the whers have had a go at it, but it’s better than nothing. Stay behind the table and if there’s anyone injured grab ‘em and drag them behind the table you turn over. Can you do that?” Tiy was sure she could, it was really only for politeness that she said it, so she didn’t wait for a reply.

Grabbing her own weapon, just a knife that had landed on the floor from the morning meal, Tiy moved back towards the whers, and searched for where she saw another body. He’d been closer to the door, near the man who was being dragged back by a Blue wher. Where was he? Had someone moved him already? Perhaps a wher got to him to? Either way, she couldn’t see anyone else that was clearly out of it right now, but there were people still left in the Hall.

There was a woman, she was screaming before? Spotting Tavianna, now standing, Tiy rushed forward. She just got to Tavianna’s side when she heard the roar of the Gold. Thinking it a sign of danger, was the Hunter looking this way? Threatening a handler? Tiy planted herself between the Hunter and Tavianna. “Ma’am, stay behind me, are you hurt?”

Perhaps Tiy should have been thinking of the bigger picture, how to get the Hunter out of the Hall, but she couldn’t. This was too big of an issue right now, people were too close to danger. She was having to take it one fix at a time, and just believe in the power and training of the whers that had formed a defensive line in front of the Hunter. She had to.

"Tressisk- I'm getting a stitch." She tried to slow, but her whers head was firmly placed on her back, pushing her down the passage towards their family cavern. It was the default safe location after all. With the entrance in sight, Tressie couldn't help but laugh a little at how determined Tressisk was to get her inside, not almost there, not nearly there, and running all the way too.

"Okay okay we're here." She bent over a little bit, clutching at her side, panting. "Shards you're fast. You know you could have adjusted to make up for my little human legs."

Looking around at the cloth hangings over the entrances to the personal bed caves of her siblings and parents, she narrowed her eyes a little before calling out. "Helloooo. Anyone still here?" Whether she wanted them to be there or not she wasn't entirely sure. If they were here, it means that she might potentially be the one giving them the bad news, but if they weren't then... well. They could be anywhere.

"Ros? Nyc?" When they'd moved in together, all three siblings had agreed to at least ask before entering their private rooms. Tressie didn't really see why their personal space mattered so much, Nealros had Ellariel and Nyc had Caleah, so why did they need her to knock. But she'd agreed, and would simply shout until they heard her. "Ellariel? Kids?"

Having new graduates in their wing meant an adjustment period for everyone involved, and for the likes of him K’zaya never could fathom how he could forget just how early everything seemed to happen since they had to adjust for people new to the routine. It didn’t help that he was usually one of the last riders to make it to the weyrbowl, ready for their trip to the minehall, and Fyenoruth did what he could to pick up that slack. He just really wanted to savour the Klah in the morning.

Today, it would seem his tardiness was more of a blessing. He was in the second group of Prairie riders to leave the bowl, and while he may have only been a few heartbeats behind the first batch, he hadn’t quite managed to land when the blue dragon was attached. With visibility minimal and the fog stirred up by the rush of movement sparked from the attack it was a few moments before K’zaya and Fyenoruth were actually entering the fray.

K’zaya tightened his grip on Fyenoruth’s straps, panicking a moment as he realised he hadn’t done quite as thorough a job checking them that morning… But they seemed to hold firm, and Fyenoruth only gave him a moment longer before he dived towards a spot where the fog billowed away briefly to reveal what he hoped was hunter hide and not dragon.

In and out boy, don’t let them grab you. K’zaya directed his partner, though the words were uneccessary. He’d been a fully fledged member of Prairie for over a turn now, and the years of drills, candidate, weyrling and rider working to make it easier to actually act on them… not to mention Fyenoruth was doing most of the work. Luckily enough, they were only transporting supplies, so while he wasn’t as nimble as he could be, it was easy enough for Fyenoruth to use what he could of his flexibility to harry the hunters.

It went rather smoothly to start with, K’zaya’s mind already working to switch off the unnecessary information, his focus born from his odd way of protecting himself from harm and allowing him to work on instinct more than anything else. He shifted with Fyenoruth, wincing each time Fyenoruth felt a hunter’s tooth or claw. It worked well… for a time. In and out. Only slashing when they were certain it was a Hunter not Dragon before them. Even in the chaos Fyenoruth’s chivalrous side was coming through, his movements focussed on trying to protect as many of the smaller greens that were still on the ground as he could.

The attack drew on as if they were going at it for hours, but it was only a brief period before the fighting capable Bronze’s and Browns were told to land, to fend off the Hunter’s that carried on their attack.

Stay with me, K’zaya. Do not let yourself fall. I’ll keep you safe. Fyenoruth rumbled as he sought out a clear space to land – a difficult enough task with so much going on let alone the annoying persistence of the thick fog. K’zaya did not respond, instead hunkering down to make himself as small as possible in the straps, to minimise the chance a Hunter would tear him off – however futile that may be.

He managed to find a spot quickly enough, landing barely half a dragonlength away from where a Hunter was wrestling with another Bronze. It would be easier to fend off the large hunter with the two of them, though Fyenoruth’s agitation grew as he struggled to find an opening to slash at the beast. The tail that lashed around behind the beast with as much purpose as the rest of its body as he rolled with Adakhanyth seemed as good a spot as any, and being a much larger target than what he could otherwise find, was precisely where Fyenoruth aimed his jaws.

He didn’t quite know how the Hunter would react, but hoped – as much as a dragon could, that sinking teeth into the flesh of his tail would be enough of a distraction to give Adakhanyth a chance to retaliate. As far as he was concerned, two bronzes would make light work of even a hunter as large as this one… If he could draw its attention away.

Sorry it took so long...New post, new number (6), same not-quite-sure-what-I'm-doing. So if it needs edits, let me know.

Rinneir was glad she and Deyith had been given some cargo to move rather than people for this run. She sliced the ropes as she re-mounted and the supplies fell free so they could maneuver better.

The bronzer-- neither of the pair had identified their rescuer yet-- had fallen and the damnable hunter was heading for him. /We're faster, Dey!/Right, mine. Hold on tight. I'm going straight up once we've got him.

The mossy green lurched forward, racing to the stunned rider. Rin sheathed her knife then shifted in the saddle, holding on with her left hand and reaching down with her right. Deyith was faster than the hunter, but the wild creature was only a few steps behind.

Sliding to a crouch beside the downed rider, Deyith roared and bared her teeth, wings raised and ready. Rin pulled on the man and yelled at him. “Help me! Grab on! Come on, your dragon needs you!” The bronzer snapped out of it a bit, and grabbed the saddle straps, though still relied on Rin's grip too. “Now Dey!”

The greenrider held on as best she could as her dragon shoved off the ground with powerful legs and a beat of her wings, launching them almost straight up. Hopefully they weren't heading right into another dragon in the fog, but it was the chance of collision or certainly being a pissed off lizard's lunch. Hopefully it wouldn't decide to be a leaping lizard and get them anyway.

Rin's arms were already screaming as they rose and her stomach was knotting. Time seemed like it was going so slow in the fog as sound distorted and adrenaline pumped. It was almost surreal.

The green rider's mind was racing fast enough that she had time to worry that her arms might give out or dislocate with the man's weight. She almost giggled, half-hysterically, thinking he certainly weighed more than the firestone they trained with. And what of his dragon? Both of the bronze pair were in pretty bad shape. Maybe the hunter had been distracted long enough for the bigger dragon to safely between.

"Tressie? Shardit, get in here will you? These two wherry brains aren't letting us leave." For someone who was normally calm and collected in most of his interactions with others, it would be unusual to hear the irritation that laced his voice, particularly when there was no guarantee that his sister was alone. It was likely, but that didn't mean it was the only possible solution.

Once she'd moved the cloth hanging that separated his room from the rest of their cavern, It would be easy to see why he was so annoyed. Nycolussk was stretched out as far as possible between the curtain and the rest of the room, Nyc's kids giggling at their dad's frustration while Lusk paced back and forth in front of him, eyes whirling rapidly as she did so.

Lusk certainly had a knack for picking up the presence of hunters, and had done what she could to stop Nyc from leaving the moment she'd realised something was wrong. Nycolussk, better able to understand his fellow whers had picked up on her warning and stretched himself out while the green kept Nycolus occupied, confused at first, but stiffening as the familiar sensation that came with the Hunter's appearance washed over him. From that point on it had been impossible for Nyc to even check on his other family members, both whers intent on keeping him and his children safe, particularly since Tavisk was off with Tavianna and not monitoring their home.

Nycolussk huffed a greeting to his clutchsister, standing and moving aside to allow them in, his attention shifting to the cavern's main entrance to see if she was being followed by anyone else. Knowing Tressie at least was safe calmed Nycolus down a little bit, and when he stepped forward to hug her, Lusk seemed to settle down too. Neither wher was pleased, but they no longer seemed so attached with keeping Nyc and his children confined to their sleeping quarters, though Nycolussk would position himself between the room and the door if they decided to move into the main cavern.

Lusk's attention shifted to the children though, and she set herself down nearby as she waited to see what was going to happen next. Nycolussk had made it clear that they could go to the main area if Nycolus desired it, but there was no doubting her intention not to let them stray any further than that. She'd leave the much larger Bronze to deal with Nyc from there on now that he didn't seem so inclined to simply walk towards the threat. The children wouldn't be given quite the same level of freedom however…

"What's happened?" He asked, ignoring the wher's antics now that they were no longer being quite so restrictive. "Is Ma OK?" He didn't need to specify anyone else, but Tressie would know his concern was for his brother and their father as well. He had called out earlier to see if Nealros or Ellarial were still in their room, but with no response wasn't sure if they were out, or simply sleeping and hadn't heard… He'd thought it better not to wake them if that was the case. But he knew Tavianna wasn't present, and he doubted Notkerric would still be there if there was danger at the hold. He wouldn't be Head Peacekeeper for long if he avoided dealing with problems when they arose.

Spoiler for OOC:

@Inki@Drewliet - Hope this is OK. Drew, I tried not to assume too much with Nealros but can adjust if you want him to be at the cavern still as well (and not sleeping).

Through their bond, it felt like Jo’s arm was being ripped to shreds too. She heard another scream, closer this time, but wasn’t sure if it was from rage or pain, hers or someone else’s. The agony of it was blinding, and she thought for sure the Hunter was going to tear the entire limb free before Lyrisiveth managed to escape…

She felt a sickening lurch, a pop that made her feel like she was going to vomit, and suddenly they were free. The abruptness of it left the Green staggering, trying to catch her balance so that she didn’t end up on her back or on her side—to keep from crushing her rider, and to prevent the Hunter from having yet more access to softer, more vital parts. Mind reeling, Lyrisiveth fought against reverting solely to instinct. Favoring her injured leg, she tried to scramble away on three to flee.

Don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. The mantra started in Jossekayne’s mind, as she tried to steady her dragon. To convince the Green not to focus on her injury until they were safely away. In time, Lyrisiveth picked it up too.

Quick as she could, ichor streaming from her leg, she bunched her muscles to take off. Hopefully they could lose the Hunter in the fog.

Young as he was, Onisk didn’t really understand what it was that roused him. All the little Blue knew was that something was wrong. His older Bronze companion might not be reacting to whatever it was—yet, anyway—but it didn’t occur to him to doubt himself because of it. Instead, with all the confidence of a much larger creature, he hissed and nudged at Ophysk. It might have looked comical if anyone were of the presence of mind to see it.

“The fuck are you on about?” Since he hadn’t pulled one of the earlier shifts, Ophy hadn’t bothered to get out of bed yet. Still stretched out and dozing next to Domni before they went down to the Weyr Hall for breakfast, he was less than amused at being woken by grumbling from both whers. Ophysk was about as pleased with the smaller Blue, absently growling at him and pushing Onisk away with one foot.

But then the Bronze paused, and the unfamiliar feeling radiating from Onisk started to make sense. The Blue just hadn’t known what had put him on edge.

That pushed all of them fully awake. Sliding out of the furs, Ophyonis threw on his nearest clothes and shoved his feet into his boots. “Stay here.” It was directed equally at Domnitissa and Onisk—the former, he fully expected to obey without question. And between Ophysk’s higher rank and the beginning of the Blue’s training, Onisk stayed too though he was reluctant and grumbling.

Small he might be, but he was determined to help too. Even if it was just protecting their living quarters.

Ophy knew they didn’t have time for him to put on all of his wherhide armor, but he strapped on what of it he could. The bigger pieces meant to protect vitals rather than limbs. His Bronze pushed out of the room ahead of him, nudging the hanging cloth door aside and taking off down the tunnels at a reasonably quick pace. And the closer they got to the Weyr Hall, the clearer it was that this wasn’t just a false alarm or preemptive warning like last time.

The shouting, screaming, and running crowds certainly made that clear.

But of all the things he’d expected to find when he got to the entrance of the Hall, a Hunter inside—past the heavy metal doors—was not something Ophy would have guessed.

Fuck. That was the kind of morning this was going to be.

Their training might not have covered this, but how many times in the past had they had to extrapolate for situations that just couldn’t be planned for? After all that, it was easy to know what to do: Ophyonis moved to help the nearest group of Holders and Peacekeepers pulling the injured back into the safety of the tunnels, and Ophysk launched himself after the Hunter along with the rest of the whers.

The Bronze was angry. Enraged. How dare this creature push its way inside their home? His sides burned at the memory of the Hunter that had nearly killed him before, the scars it had left behind, and Ophysk used that rage now to further fuel his violence. He knew how to work in tandem with other creatures like himself. And with others attacking the beast’s underbelly and legs, he skidded beneath it to join them. Biting at one of its front limbs, he sawed his teeth at its tough hide, intending to drive it back, to at least make it retreat.

At times, it seemed as though each individual battle was its own island inside the fog. With it muffling both sight and sound, it was difficult to tell where enemy ended and friend began.

The mist eddied around Uramaeth’s wings when he spread them, swirling against the movement and clouding him just for a moment. Just long enough. This time when he lashed out at the Hunter with his teeth, there was enough uncertainty that it could not fully anticipate how to dodge away. And as the Brown pushed at it with one foreleg, he connected with its injured shoulder. Hissing in pain, the creature thrashed, but only ended up turning its side more toward him.

Uramaeth’s teeth scraped against its thick skin, then dragged gashes in it, and then punctured it, sinking into flesh and earning another hiss-slash-screech. Hot ichor filled his mouth, but it was clear the creature was panicking. Flailing its claws and tails at him, it scored more scratches on the Brown, but none of them deep.

It wanted to get away. Even at the cost of a portion of its own body. But that might be a sacrifice it could not safely make, if the Brown didn’t leave it with only one deep bite.

Fortunately for K’rez, the fog hid enough of his movements, too, that the Hunter fighting Denoth couldn’t see where he had gone. All it knew was that the vulnerable rider atop the dragon’s back had vanished, the straps hanging empty to one side. But when that didn’t discourage the Brown, and he didn’t Between, that must mean its enemy wasn’t dead.

Dodging his bite, the creature swiped at Denoth’s eyes with its tail and tried to duck around him, intent on finding the rider that it knew would incapacitate the larger threat.

Fyenoruth’s attempt to distract the Hunter from Adakhanyth just turned its rage on him instead. Whipping its tail away from his mouth, it shifted to attack the smaller Bronze. Once it regained its balance from how J’thir’s dragon had bowled it over, it sprang toward K’zaya’s—with the intent of getting a clear shot at the rider himself, jaws spread wide to swallow him whole.

And Lyrisiveth, in her attempt to flee, was not fast enough. Surging forward, the Hunter that had bitten through her leg raked at her flanks with its foreclaws, dragging deep gashes in the Green’s hide and spilling more of her ichor. And as those sharp talons dug into her flesh to hold her tight, the sudden reversal of momentum snapped Jo back in her riding straps, hard enough to bruise and break bones before the leather itself started to give way, putting her in danger of sliding down Lyrisiveth’s back into the Hunter’s waiting mouth.

Within the Hall, the sheer amount of large whers responding to the threat slowly shifted the tide in their favor. With Queens and handlers alike commanding Bronzes and Browns, the Holders’ and Crafters’ protective beasts attacked the Hunter in concert. One-on-one, even two- or three-on-one, and the fight would have been largely hopeless even against one of the beasts small enough to fit into the Hall. But between so many of them, flooding in to protect those they loved…

It couldn’t fight them all.

There were casualties, sure. At least one gold had her spine snapped with the force of it batting her away. Bronze and Brown bodies lay crumpled on the floor, oozing ichor. Even a Blue or two that were foolhardy enough to join the fight. Tiynnalsk, biting at its back leg, sustained a kick strong enough to rattle him, if not concuss him. Kensk earned long scratches along one side, narrowly avoiding snagging in his wingsails.

But with so many wounds, covered in its own ichor and bleeding, hamstrung in at least one leg and starting to leak thicker viscera from where so many had attacked its soft underbelly, it eventually staggered and fell.

It did not move again, body hitting the heavy floor hard enough to shake some people from their feet. And no doubt some of the whers beneath it, Rossk included, would be crushed under it if they did not get out in time.

But against all odds, it was dead.

Spoiler for OOC:

Ayyyyyyyyy look what’s been accomplished! 8D It’ll be another few days before the next response so people can get replies in. And again, don’t forget to pick a number between 1-20 if your character is in some fashion in harm’s way.

Kenna nodded her head at the woman's instructions, face now steeling into an expression of determination. She had a job to do, and being so far away from Kensk meant that in all honestly, she couldn't do anything else.

The table was heavy, but not heavy enough for a hardened miner so filled with adrenaline. With the ease at which she flipped it over to defend her, she felt as if she could've even lifted Kensk at that moment! It was all a fallacy of course, brought upon by the chemicals rushing through her system, but none the less, made her feel a little calmer. Physical activity had always been able to do that for her.

Huddling behind the table, she spotted a discarded serving platter, and a sharp carving knife, half obscured by the remainders of breakfast. Scuttling out and snatching it up before retreating behind her defence was just another step of the instructions she had been given.

A woman huddled underneath a table nearby, and Kenna hissed at her until eyes met hers. Two were better than one after all... right?

Peeking around the corner, Kenna searched for Kensk, her eyes being drawn automatically to the wher who belonged to her. When a swipe of his claws rendered flesh from bone, Kenna couldn't help but silently encourage him, spurring him on to defend, to attack, to succeed.

The flash of claws which slashed him from shoulder to tail echoed in Kenna's own body, and she pressed a hand to her side, feeling quivering flesh, but no blood. Kensk retreated a little, the injuring making him slower, leaving him open to any attacks that may have come his way, but they didn't. With so many whers in the fray now, the Hunter's attention was pulled in all directions, receiving slash after slash, and feeling sharp wher teeth ripping into it where it couldn't retaliate.

As soon as the body had lain still on the ground, Kenna sprinted forward, shouting at Kensk to put his shoulder into the gate. Finally it seemed, her brain had responded in a timely manner. Maybe their current foe had been defeated, but the sounds of battle still echoed through the foggy outside. They had to get the gate closed.

Still preparing for her trip across to the Weyr today, meant that Ryn was only aware of the disaster both inside and outside the Hall when the thudding of feet sounded past the little cave she shared with Ynesk and Eppask.

Eppask for his part, stood to attention immediately, grabbing the goggles from their hook by the door and shoving them into Ryneppa's hand. She however, hesitated. Sure, she was a fighter, but that didn't mean that she wanted to go throwing herself into a fight for no particular reason. She fought to win, without any information as to the nature of this fiasco, Ryn had no idea whether it was a winning situation. But when Ynesk ripped his own goggles from their hook, her decision was made. Obviously Eppask was rubbing off on both of them.

Slipping them both over their heads, she grabbed her wher hide jacket from the back of the door, and sprinted from the room, pulling the taught sleeves on the leathered material as she went. It wasn't armour, not something like the peacekeepers had access to, but her jacket was specially commissioned back from Fort Hold. Getting into your fair share of fights over what was rightfully owed to you from a bet meant that having a slightly thicker jacket was beneficial.

Maybe it was another riot, the one at the Weyr had certainly been the talk of the town. The sight of a troop of whers taking on a Hunter of all things was a different thing all together. Without the need for verbal orders, Eppask dove into the fray, going to any soft and revealed bit of hide, Ynesk stayed further back, keeping by Ryneppa's side, in case any form of extra defence was needed. Ryn's stance was light on the balls of her feet, ready to move at a moment's notice, but scanning the room for her siblings. Eppask could handle himself, defend the Hall like he was needed, Ryneppa would always defend family first.

What chance there was to celebrate successfully distracting Adakhanyth's attacker was short lived as the beast immediately turned it's attention to them. While not as large as the other bronze, and slightly more agile, he wasn't exactly a creature of the ground. He saw the Hunter leap at him, and knew noise wasn't about to scare him off, but reacted the only way he could think of.

Stay low, K'zaya Fyenoruth's tone was harsh as he commanded his rider to make himself as small as possible, a mix of fear and anger colouring the usually pleasant undertone to his voice. He didn't have time.to wait for K'zaya to confirm he understood, there was little opportunity for Fyenoruth to do much else as the hunter charged.

But as the beast sprung at him, high enough to leap on his back, Fyenoruth crouched as low as he could, shifting his weight to one side in an attempt to throw the hunter off his target while pinning hisbwings to his side. He couldn't watch what the hunter was doing, but he hoped that the creature would be unable to change trajectory mid leap. He paused, neck and head low to the ground, muscles in his legs bunched. He'd only have once chance, and he would not waste it if he could help it.

Roaring a challenge, Fyenoruth pushed himself upward, forelegs not quite long enough to do all the work but back legs doing most of it anyway. He almost reared as he trued to keep his head as low as possible, wings aching as he forced them to stay tight to his body, not wanting to give the hunter more dragon to chew on as he tried to slam the side of his shoulder into the other's chest. There were claws to worry about, and he could not keep K'zaya safe while doing it, but if he didn't try they could be doomed anyway.

He'd try to swing out of reach as soon as possible after impact, change his direction and hopefully put some distance between them, but there was no guarantee it was possible. Perhaps if he'd had more opportunity with Jungke Wing he'd know better what needed to be done... drills didn't necessarily cover hunter fighting tactics.

K'zaya's attention was all for his dragon, jaw clenched tight as Fyenoruth gave his order, trying to flatten himself in the straps as much as possible. The way the bronze's muscles were bunching beneath him, K'zaya knew his position was important... but it was really difficult to know what that was in the few heartbeats he was provided. He shifted with the bronze, posotioned slightly off centre but still firmly attached, not even daring to lift his head in case the motion threw Fyenoruth off balance. There was some semblance of ground drill practices coming to mind, but nothing concrete, nothing K'zaya could draw on except to trust his bonded.

And then Fyenoruth jolted upwards and every single muscle in his own body tensed, the threat that was the airborne hunter literally hanging over him. He shifted with Fyenoruth again, swinging his weight away from his tilt, trying to minimise the injuries he may incur. His life, was Fyenoruth's life, and even with his childish personality he knew this moment was more critical than any other he had experienced.

Spoiler for Hidden:

NUMBER ONE

Also... If I've explained it right, he's doing a sort of twisting shoulder barge, not going to damage the hunter if it hits, but could possibly throw him away temporarily. If it's not reading right or doesn't seem feasible, ignore, or let me know and I'll adjust.

With the Hunter's head held between his forepaws, there was little that Adakhanyth could do to prevent the hunter from retaliating with all four sets of razor sharp claws. There was even less that J'thir could do, but cling to his straps and hope to Faranth that the hunter didn't snap them. Adakhanyth fought to keep the hunter's claws as far from them as he could, using his back legs to push the beast back, to push himself further away by scrabbling at the ground between them. His extra height over the hunter helped, he was able to keep the beast's front claws from raking his chest and riding straps, but he couldn't hold it at bay forever and he could not prevent its back legs from raking the insides of his own.

Then, all of a sudden, the hunter pulled away, the direction so unexpected that it was able to pull its head free from Adakhanyth's grasp. The bronze made a grab to catch it again, but the hunter was gone, turned on another. What happened? J'thir asked from his back, having not seen anything but dirt and bronze neck.

Fyenoruth! Adakhanyth answered, finally spotting the other bronze backing away from the hunter as it advanced toward him. I must help him! We must... argh! the bronzes mental cry was echoed with a bellow of pain as he tried to stand on a leg that was heavily dripping ichor, slashed multiple times down the inside.

Shells, you have to move, Ada, we can't stay here. You can get up! J'thir encouraged his dragon, attempting to sit up in his straps and cast around for any other hunters that might appear out of the fog. Around him the world was white, except for the swirling shadows where Fyenoruth fought the hunter. With a lurch and a growl, Adakhanyth tried again, hauling himself to his feet using the lesser damaged leg to take his weight.

Slowly, he began to advance toward the hunter again as it leapt at Fyenoruth. As the other bronze barged it with a shoulder, Adakhanyth gathered himself up for one last, three legged dash at the beast as it landed, hoping to take advantage of it being off balanced by Fyenoruth's shove. If he had to grapple it again, so be it, but at least this time he knew that there was another bronze there to help him take it down.

Fyenoruth! he called, just as he made impact with the hunter. Go for its throat!

Spoiler for Hidden:

Tag @Kyya Sorry this took so long! Hopefully between them they can take this mother down now xD And I'm gonna go number 2.

"Sohsk. Hey Soshk. What're you doing?" Sohrelle had paused in the chewing of her meal to stare down at her wher, frozen where the green had been sitting by one of the legs of the table. She shrugged, ruffling Rossell's hair on his head, and simply letting him know that Sohsk would get over whatever it was soon enough.

Sohrelle still didn't really know how to sift through her whers emotions, and connecting those emotions to Sohsk's actions at this moment seemed nigh on impossible on top of trying to keep Sohred's food in his mouth and his crying at bay. The little toddler still liked to reply upon screaming to get his way, and while Sohrelle knew she couldn't always give into his demands, but in the Hall she knew that Rossed would be very disappointed if they caused a scene.

A loud scream of a dragon burst through the cacophony of the Hall, sending a shudder through everyone involved. What was... A cry of the word Hunters caused Sohrelle to spring to action even as everyone else did, scooping one child onto either hip and nudging the still frozen wher with her foot who cringed away from the touch. "Sohsk. We need to go. Sohsk!" But the wher's emotions in her head were too muddled, too confused. The fear from Sohrelle's mind blurring their connection and making it difficult for her to put any force into her order.

Buffeted by someone passing by, she almost lost her balance, clutching onto her two boys as she steadied herself. Shards. And she ran, leaving her wher where she huddled, knowing that she'd either find her way back to their home cave, or they'd find her when it was safe again... probably For now, she had to get her kids to safety.

Briefly in her flight, Sohrelle thought of Rossed, and whether he was rallying to answer the attack, but Sohred's piercing cry of fear dragged her back into reality, and she ran down the caverns with the rest of the fleeing crowd.

Lyrisiveth screamed as the Hunter’s claws snagged in her flesh. As jagged and sharp as its teeth had been, they tore deep gashes in the Green’s sides and flanks. It was only through sheer will that she avoided thrashing wildly to get free. But with her rider still in danger on her back, Lyrisiveth knew she couldn’t afford to flail.

Summoning all her strength, she ground her teeth against the pain and pushed down and out with her wings, the Hunter’s talons dragging through her legs. The Green knew that if she did succeed in getting away, landing was going to be no easy feat. Not when it felt like her own body was going to collapse underneath her.

Hang on, darlin’!

Jo couldn’t even gather the coherence to answer. Not when she could feel—and see—the buckles and straps starting to give way. The Hunter snapped at her where she was nearly hanging from the saddle, and Jossekayne could feel its hot breath on her back—the stink of it wafting over her and turning her stomach.

Even breathing hurt, and she’d guess it was because some of her ribs had broken when the beast had dragged them backward. It felt like her arms and legs were burning too from the pain radiating out of her dragon. Scrambling to get a grip on the saddle, past where the straps were weakened and fraying, another jolt was enough to dislocate one arm from its socket—but at least she managed to hold on with the other as Lyrisiveth managed to break free.

What of her she left behind, neither of them really wanted to know.

As soon as she was clear, tail whipping past the Hunter’s hungry jaws, she went Between. Almost dangerously so, but she did emerge again in the Weyr Bowl, low and crashing to the grass as she crumpled in an ichor-covered pile with her rider still clinging to her back.

K'rez stayed poised on his toes, moving from side to side to keep himself hidden in the shade of Denoth's hide. If he'd been able to feel anything other than the rush of adrenaline in his system, K'rez might have felt guilty about hiding behind Denoth. But after catching another sight of the flashing claws and snapping teeth of the Hunter trying desperately to get at him it seemed, K'rez definitely didn't feel bad.

Denoth. We either need to finish this, or get out of here.

Denoth's call for assistance went out to all those nearby that didn't seem to be... already occupied. Perhaps an overhead Jungle Rider might be able to spot them in the fog with Denoth's call now. But the brown was definitely not going to move and let the Hunter anywhere near his rider.

At first, Denoth had thought the Hunter was going for the easier target. Smaller, more able to be swallowed whole. But even with an entire fleshy brown-dragon mass in front of it, the Hunter was attempting to find the rider, not take care of the dragon. These Hunters were far too intelligent for their own good.

The swipe of the Hunter's tail to his eyes was not dodgable, given all the other limbs Denoth was attempting to keep track off. But Denoth arched backwards, attempting even as his head reeled back from the blow to cover K'rez even more with his body, blocking the Hunter's ducking attempt with his hide, K'rez sidestepping to hide himself under Denoth's thigh.

Whilst the attempt may have successfully hidden K'rez this one time, it left Denoth's underbelly exposed for the time it took him to spin around to slash at the Hunter's shoulder.

Age:2572//19Rank: Prairie RiderPhysical Description:Faennilin has dark brown skin, hair and eyes. Her hair is curly, cropped into a short bob that is cool in Summer, and often the edges of it are pulled properly out of her face by a leather thong. She’s thin, bordering obscenely so, but has a girlish air that makes her seem fairy-like. Proud to be a rider like so many generations of her family, she’s always in her riding leathers unless absolutely necessary to be in other clothes, in which she’ll just grab whatever fits from siblings, friends, or Wingmates. Personality:Delightful, Airheaded, EmotionalBackstory:Faennilin is a lovely person in general, if a bit airheaded. She’ll never leave Prairie in all likelihood, which doesn’t bother her in the slightest, she’s still a rider and that’s all she ever hoped for. Ferrying people back and forth from the Minehall is a great way to meet new and interesting people and talk about crafts she never had an interest in before. All riders have to be prepared to face Hunters, but watching a fellow Pairie member fall, and fall without any warning, is a harsh reminder of your own mortality. Petrified beyond reasonable thought, Faennilin is acting on muscle memory and shared instinct with her Blue.Intended Outcome:Severe Injury pretty please (I actually like her more than I was expecting so I might not kill her… very sad I know.)

As her Blue thrashed above her, trying anything he could in his panic to get out of the situation they’d found themselves in, Fae was struggling to breathe. Properly this time. From the weight on top of her she couldn’t actually fill her lungs, the weight of her lifemate grinding more and more of her into the ground.

She couldn’t hear the tearing of her clothes down her side over the roaring in her ears. The panicked cry of her bonded echoed through her mind over as her mind went into survival mode. She could no longer think properly, she could barely see, she couldn’t move, all she could do was gasp for breath. Breath that was being crushed out of her every time she managed to take a little in. The pain wasn’t there, the pressure of dragon weight above her was too much, either that or enough nerves had severed in her arm that she wouldn’t have been able to feel it anyway.

Her Blue could barely sense his own pain, there had been a few scrapes from the Hunter trying to tip him to get at Fae, but now it seemed that it’s attention was back on him. He couldn’t get any leverage away from his position, the Hunter would have free reign to disembowel him. And then Fae would die.

But the Hunter didn’t have time. A pale Bronze barrelled straight into the side of the Hunter, and all weight was suddenly lifted. It was so quick, and with both Fae and her Blue in survival mode, neither could quite comprehend the Hunter near one and a half times his size was suddenly… gone. But the bellowed Fly! from Adakhanyth brought the Blue of the pair back from the brink of panicked insanity that had taken hold.

The small Blue rolled quickly, and launched up, hard. One of his legs quivered as he did so, making a less than graceful takeoff. But he didn’t need to be told to get out more than once. This was as close as they’d ever come to losing one another, and he wanted out.

Fae had no strength left, only her straps held her to her Blue. As he rolled, her body ragdolled in the saddle, while she still gasped for breath. She didn’t get it as she was slammed back down onto her Blue’s back when he launched into the air. Her chin hit hard and sent a tooth through her lip.

But that wasn’t where she was losing the most blood. Her whole right side until halfway down her thigh was bleeding. The weight and thrashing of her dragon had been enough to grind through her rider leathers and then through her skin. Her arm was undoubtably in the worst state. Bent at a weird angle from her shoulder, it barely resembled an arm at this point, shredded bits of skin and clothing dangled over the side of her Blue.

They circled in a wide arc away from the Jungle and the incoming dragons, while Fae finally found a moment to breathe. Her chest expanded shakily, her whole body wracked with the shuddering breaths and she struggled to stay conscious. She felt more than heard the quiet, still terrified, rumble in her mind. Mine?

She couldn’t quite form an answer, not properly, not as feeling was starting to come back to her with every shuddering breath she took. An image of home appeared in her mind, on instinct and training, she latched onto it. She managed to stay conscious for long enough to see the other side of Between, but no longer.